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### Viewing cable 06THEHAGUE2047, NETHERLANDS/U.S.: PDAS VOLKER DISCUSSES BILATERAL

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06THEHAGUE2047 | 2006-09-20 05:05 | 2011-01-17 00:12 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy The Hague

`

    VZCZCXRO8174
    PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
    DE RUEHTC #2047/01 2630538
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 200538Z SEP 06
    FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6854
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4157
    RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0419
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 THE HAGUE 002047

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2016
    TAGS: PREL ENRG MASS NATO OSCE PHUM UN NL
    SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/U.S.: PDAS VOLKER DISCUSSES BILATERAL
    RELATIONS, NATO

    REF: A. A...

    79047,9/20/2006 5:38,06THEHAGUE2047,"Embassy The
    Hague",CONFIDENTIAL,06THEHAGUE2024,"VZCZCXRO8174
    PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
    DE RUEHTC #2047/01 2630538
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 200538Z SEP 06
    FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6854
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4157
    RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0419
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC","C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 THE
    HAGUE 002047
    SIPDIS
    SIPDIS
    E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2016
    TAGS: PREL ENRG MASS NATO OSCE PHUM UN NL
    SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/U.S.: PDAS VOLKER DISCUSSES BILATERAL
    RELATIONS, NATO
    REF: A. A) THE HAGUE 2024
    ¶B. B) THE HAGUE 2023
    ¶C. C) THE HAGUE 1991
    ¶D. D) THE HAGUE 1978
    Classified By: Amb Roland Arnall; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

    ¶1. (C) Summary: During his September 12 visit to The Hague,
    EUR PDAS Volker discussed the road to Riga, detainee policy,
    Lebanon, ICTY compliance (septel), Guatemala's UNSC bid,
    contacts with Syria (ref b), OSCE reform and presidency, the
    Arms Trade Treaty concept, JSF, and energy security. He met
    with GONL officials, parliamentarians, and journalists, and
    delivered a speech to the influential Netherlands Atlantic
    Association. Volker defended U.S. detainee policy, saying
    that President Bush recognized the need to address negative
    perceptions and is working with Congress to reach a
    comprehensive legal solution. Following up on discussions
    held September 8 by visiting USNATO Permrep Nuland (ref c),
    Volker underlined the importance of two issues: resolving
    troop shortfalls in Afghanistan, and making progress on the
    global partnership initiative. End summary.

    ¶2. (C) Volker held in-depth discussions with Dutch
    interagency representatives, including MFA Deputy Director
    General for Political Affairs Wim Geerts; MFA Director of
    Security Policy Robert de Groot; the Prime Minister's Foreign
    Policy Advisor, Karel van Oosterem; and MOD Deputy Director
    for Defense Policy, Jan Geert Siccama.

    The road to Riga
    ----------------

    ¶3. (C) Geerts pressed for a unifying political message at
    Riga, and reiterated Dutch concern that explicitly stating
    NATO is a global organization would be divisive. He
    suggested emphasizing NATO's role ""as an organization with
    the knowledge and capabilities for stabilization operations""
    worldwide. He feared that there was still not enough
    substance on the agenda for Riga, and thought that French
    obstructionism - which he termed worse than at any other time
    in recent memory - was largely to blame. He argued for
    including the EU and UN on the margins, an idea Volker
    discouraged. MOD's Siccama suggested that the NATO Response
    Force (NRF) be declared fully operational at Riga, even if
    not all the requirements had actually been met.

    Georgia Intensified Dialogue and Enlargement
    --------------------------------------------

    ¶4. (C) France, Germany and the UK are all concerned about
    Georgian volatility, said Volker, and this is causing them to
    second-guess themselves on the Intensified Dialogue. But ID
    for Georgia would, he said, actually contribute to stability.
    The U.S. would prefer, Volker added, that the North Atlantic
    Council (NAC) meet prior to the September 21 Ministerial in
    New York, so that Ministers could openly discuss the decision
    afterward. De Groot said the Dutch could go either way.

    ¶5. (C) De Groot and Geerts repeated Dutch concerns that
    Ukrainian membership apirations were moving in the wrong
    direction and that now was not the time to discuss expansion.
    Volker urged the Dutch to support at least mentioning the
    aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia. He recommended the
    summit document say that enlargement has historically been a
    success and that it set a date certain for Balkans decisions.
    He said we needed to hear from Ukraine how it wanted to
    proceed with NATO, and support them as far as they were
    prepared to go at this time.

    Global Partnership
    ------------------

    ¶6. (C) NATO needs to develop its ability to work together
    with partners around the world, to deal with emerging crises,
    said Volker. We need one toolbox, he added, without
    firewalls. He acknowledged that Japan and Korea have shown
    only lukewarm interest in open-ended consultations, to which
    Geerts replied the Dutch are keen to try, with one or two
    other countries, to prepare an options paper. De Groot
    suggested the Germans might be useful in this, though it
    needed to be discrete and done outside the NATO conference
    rooms. Volker said he would be interested in helping shape
    any Dutch ideas on the subject discreetly in advance, and we
    should in any case see how the discussions go in New York, as
    this will be an issue we expect Ministers to discuss.
    Afghanistan

    THE HAGUE 00002047 002 OF 004
    -----------

    ¶7. (C) The Dutch repeated their frustration with Karzai (ref
    c) and hoped we would press him while he was in Washington.
    The army and police needed to be adequately paid, and they
    needed uniforms and resources. Geerts said he had traveled
    with PM Balkenende in August to Afghanistan, and it was his
    distinct impression that Karzai says all the right things but
    delivers nothing. Karzai has no policy, no reconciliation
    program in the South, de Groot contributed, adding, ""We can't
    win with this."" Geerts suggested the need for increased
    consultation in Kabul among allied representatives, to bring
    more pressure on Karzai. He echoed the U.S. suggestion (ref
    c) that NATO senior civilian representative, Dutch Ambassador
    Daan Everts, take the lead. Volker floated a suggestion,
    that Afghan Coordinators from NATO allies might also get
    together prior to Riga.

    ¶8. (C) Geerts said that ISAF must make progress on the ground
    before the onset of winter. Volker noted that NATO must also
    resolve the ISAF troop shortfall, prior to Riga. He
    expressed support for Dutch and UK efforts on that. If
    Afghanistan is in bad shape when leaders gather at Riga, it
    could overshadow the summit. But if we do our job well be
    fore Riga, Afghanistan would be one example among many of how
    NATO is fulfilling global responsibilities.

    UNSC GRULAC race: Dutch still playing it close
    --------------------------------------------- -

    ¶9. (C) Volker urged the Dutch to support Guatemala's lobbying
    effort, particularly in Asia and Africa, where we think the
    race will be decided. He asked the Dutch to consider the
    credibility of the UN, particularly in the U.S. Congress, if
    Venezuela were to gain a seat. Chavez would use the UNSC, he
    said, to support the ""Bolivarian Revolution"" elsewhere in
    South America, to attack the U.S. and to make life easier for
    rogue states.

    ¶10. (C) Guatemala, by contrast, is democratic, has made
    tremendous human rights gains, and is a contributor to UN
    peacekeeping operations (including the DRC, where they lost
    eight troops). ""We are not seeing strong views,"" coming from
    the EU, he added. Geerts responded, de rigour, ""Venezuela is
    a neighboring country of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. We
    will act discreetly."" In a separate meeting with MFA
    Director General for Political Affairs Pieter de Gooijer,
    Ambassador Arnall and Volker again raised the issue. De
    Gooijer quietly affirmed that he expected The Netherlands to
    support Guatemala.

    Lebanon
    -------

    ¶11. (C) The GONL is still considering the possibility of
    sending a frigate, said Geerts, to operate with the Germans
    under NATO auspices. The cabinet will look into it, he said,
    but not if the Lebanese maintain their insistence on a 6 mile
    barrier. Geerts then turned to Lebanon reconstruction,
    expressing interest in the results of the joint U.S.-UK
    assessment mission. Volker expressed our concern that the
    money get to the right people, and put forward the idea of a
    trust fund, in case some allies wanted to contribute but did
    not have sufficient personnel to place on the ground. The
    Dutch, who had proposed a NATO clearinghouse possibility,
    expressed interest.

    OSCE: Dutch support Kazakh bid
    ------------------------------

    ¶12. (C) Volker acknowledged continuing Russian efforts to
    constrain OSCE democracy promotion efforts, but said that we
    were hopeful of closing out the reform package. We are
    trying to shine the spotlight, he said, on frozen conflicts
    and increase attention to proper treatment of NGOs. He added
    that we absolutely will not consider raising our contribution
    when the budget is reviewed under the Spanish chairmanship.

    ¶13. (C) Volker said the Kazakhs were receiving mixed messages
    on their bid for Chairman in Office, including expressions of
    German support. Geerts said that FM Bot, too, had recently
    informed the Kazakhs that the GONL would support their bid.
    Volker replied that a Kazakh presidency now would not be
    credible, given Kazakhstan's recent election and lack of
    progress on democracy. An OSCE Chairman on Office needs to
    represent fulfillment of OSCE principles. We have told them
    that we would be willing to support them later, he said,
    provided their actions reflect OSCE principles on democracy.
    Volker said that to unravel this, we should support Greece
    THE HAGUE 00002047 003.3 OF 004
    for 2009, Lithuania for 2010 and consider Kazakhstan again
    for 2011.

    Arms Trade Treaty
    -----------------

    ¶14. (C) Geerts said that The Netherlands supports giving a
    group of experts a mandate to explore the possibilities of
    such a treaty. The Dutch are remaining quiet in their
    support, though, to avoid the perception that the treaty is a
    ""western"" idea. He hoped that the U.S. would not vote
    against the measure, at the UNGA.

    Joint Strike Fighter
    --------------------

    ¶15. (C) Geerts and de Groot believed the prosepcts of a JSF
    MOU prior to the November 22 elections looked increasingly
    unlikely. Labor (PvdA), they said, is clearly coming out
    against JSF, and it is far from certain that sufficient votes
    exist to gain approval prior to Parliament's November 1
    pre-election recess. Geerts added that the issue had become
    extremely sensitive. Volker urged the Dutch to make the case
    for JSF.

    Energy security
    ---------------

    ¶16. (C) The Netherlands, said Geerts, wanted to avoid
    becoming overly dependent on Russian energy. They needed to
    secure alternate sources , he said, and at the same time have
    options to make life difficult for the Russians. Some EU
    countries would, he believed, allow energy concerns to affect
    their relations with Russia. He liked the language developed
    for the Energy Security Conference, scheduled for this spring
    but cancelled. He suggested we continue a dialogue on this.

    Detainee issues: Dutch criticism remains heated
    --------------------------------------------- --

    ¶17. (C) MFA Director General for Political Affairs Pieter de
    Gooijer dedicated his entire 30 minute meeting with Volker to
    detainee issues. De Gooijer was focused exclusively on the
    delicate situation in which Foreign Minister Bot has found
    himself (refs a and d), and the need for us to be sensitive
    to this in our public statements and meetings with
    parliamentarians.

    ¶18. (C) Parliamentarians Bert Koenders and Hans van Baalen,
    foreign policy spokesmen for the Labor Party (PvdA) and the
    conservative Liberals (VVD), respectively, both focused
    largely on detainee issues. Koenders, a strong supporter of
    the transatlantic relationship, was one of the instigators of
    the parliamentary debate on secret prisons (ref a). As van
    Baalen explained, in a separate meeting, President Bush's
    speech September 6 provided the ideal opportunity for the
    left to attack the credibility of Bot and his governing
    Christian Democrats. Van Baalen, whose Liberals are junior
    coalition partners, added, though, that even within his own
    party, there was real concern that the U.S. was drifting away
    from shared transatlantic values. He said that he shared
    concern over lack of due process in secret prisons, but
    promised that Liberal criticism would remain well-reasoned as
    long as he was around.

    ¶19. (U) In talks with de Gooijer, Koenders, and van Baalen,
    as well as in remarks to the Netherlands Atlantic Association
    and interviews with journalists, Volker vigorously defended
    the President's decisions on removing all detainees from CIA
    detention facilities, guaranteeing ICRC access, and
    guanranteeing appropriate treatment under Common Article 3 of
    the Geneva Conventions, the Detainee Treatment Act and the
    newly issued Army Field Manual. Questions dealt almost
    exclusively with detainee issues and Dutch concern that U.S.
    detainee policy had strayed from a commitment to rule of law
    and due process. Volker emphasized repeatedly that this was
    not the case, and indeed that President Bush had taken steps
    to comprehensively address the legal issues, treatment
    issues, and underlying values issues that had been of concern
    to many Europeans. Volker explained that the President had
    now gone to Congress and was asking it to consider
    legislation that would provide a comprehensive legal solution
    to the problems encountered in the war on terror, consistent
    with the recent Supreme Court ruling.

    ¶20. (U) Despite Volker's repeated focus on the positive
    decisions taken by the President, Dutch media chose to focus
    coverage of his visit on the fact that, while the detainees
    THE HAGUE 00002047 004 OF 004
    had been removed from CIA detention, the CIA program itself
    remained in place. These stories, in turn, factored into
    Dutch parliamentary hearings on the subject on September 13,
    and prompted several prominent politicians (including FM Bot,
    Koenders, and van Baalen) to express deep disappointment with
    the U.S. position.

    ¶21. (U) PDAS Volker cleared on this cable.
    ARNALL

`